As if "Tickle-me Elmo" wasn't bad enough, now the Sesame Workshop -- makers of Sesame Street -- have to come along and whip children into a frenzy over smartphones and tablets.

At a humorous section in Qualcomm Inc.'s (QCOM) Tuesday morning presser, Sesame Workshop director and chief operating officer H. Melvin Ming talked about how he never knew what he was going to face for the day -- adults or screaming kids. He quipped, "I'm relieved to be in a room today with tech-savvy adults."

Soon Grover took to the stage for a jaw-dropping (for Grover at least) demo of a hot new high tech toy from Sesame Workshop. The Sesame Street Playset is a series of nondescript blocks, but it uses Qualcomm's Vuforia -- an augmented reality (AR) and 3D modelling suite -- to bring the objects to life.

By taking pictures of the 3D characters (think little Sesame Street action figures), Bert and Ernie sprung to life on the smartphone/tablet, talking to the observer. You could take more pictures of objects to add more vibrant objects to the room -- such as a TV that insulted Grover's waiting skills and a jukebox.

Of course the thing is a great deal for both Sesame Workshop, Qualcomm, and smartphone/tablet-makers everywhere because in order to get this hot new toy you have to both buy the playset and a compatible Qualcomm-equipped smartphone or tablet.

But ponying up the likely $300+ USD cost of the system is for a good cause, they insist as the playset reportedly helps children build:

social skills

language skills

creativity

Grover drew slightly less enthusiasm from the audience for his promised upcoming electronic eggbeater. But can you blame him for trying?

I can only hope that in the previous post, the person meant ADHD rather than autism...

Adults live in a digital world, yes, but children need to be able to be children without the interference of gadgets and technology. I make my living by creating technology, so I understand the importance. But gadgets are not replacements for the real and tangible elements of the world. Too often we as a society are seduced by the merits of technology and how it can "improve" our children. But that is a false notion. Our children do not need improving by means of technology, they need nurturing by parents and educators. As a child grows and matures, then they are more capable to distinguish between technology as a tool, versus technology as a caretaker.